{"id":4936,"date":"2023-03-20T15:18:33","date_gmt":"2023-03-20T15:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tayloremmet.co.uk\/blogs\/?p=4936"},"modified":"2023-03-20T15:18:33","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T15:18:33","slug":"legal-aid-changes-for-public-private-family-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tayloremmet.co.uk\/blogs\/legal-aid-changes-for-public-private-family-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Aid Changes for Public &#038; Private Family Law"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In recent weeks the government has announced various changes to legal aid eligibility. In particular, eligibility for domestic abuse victims is to be widened and new rules will be introduced which will affect the scope of legal aid for special guardianship orders. Additionally, changes are being made to means-free legal aid elibility when opposing applications for placement and adoption orders.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><u>Victims of Domestic Violence<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>As of 1<sup>st<\/sup> March 2023, when providing evidence of domestic violence for the purpose of applying for legal aid, victims can now obtain a letter or report from an appropriate health professional after an examination either in person, via telephone or via video conferencing.<\/p>\n<p>Previously, victims of domestic violence were required to attend an in-person examination with an appropriate health professional in order to obtain a letter or report evidencing their injuries or condition as being the result of domestic violence. Recently this has presented victims with a significant hurdle given the difficulties that can be faced in obtaining a face-to-face appointment with medical professionals.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, the changes have been greatly welcomed and removed a significant hurdle. The provision for assessments to take place by either telephone or video conferencing should result in victims of domestic abuse being able to obtain appointments more easily and also for them to take place sooner.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><u>Special Guardianship Orders (SGOs)<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Under the current regime, applicants for SGOs need to provide evidence of either domestic violence or child protection requirements in order to come within the scope of legal aid. This severely limits the number of applicants who qualify for legal aid.<\/p>\n<p>However, from 1<sup>st<\/sup> May 2023, new rules are to be introduced which will alter the scope of family legal aid for SGOs. Therefore, a greater number of SGO applicants should hopefully be able to access legal aid, subject to meeting the means and merits tests. Currently, very little information is available as to what the new rules will be, however it is hoped that the scope for legal aid will be increased so that a larger number of applicants will be able to receive financial support.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><u>Placement and Adoption Orders<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The government has also announced that the scope of means free legal aid will be extended for both parents and those with parental responsibilities. The changes will only apply when opposing an application for a placement or adoption order in public family law proceedings which involve local authorities. Specific details regarding the changes are yet to be announced.<\/p>\n<p>However, it has been stated that, as a result of the changes, the merits test will be brought in line with other children cases dealt with under private law. Therefore, the Legal Aid Agency will assess the merits of the particular case, considering the likelihood of success, the proportionality and reasonableness of the legal costs involved and whether a reasonable person who could afford to pay their own legal costs would use their own money to pay for the case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In recent weeks the government has announced various changes to legal aid eligibility. In particular, eligibility for domestic abuse victims is to be widened and new rules will be introduced which will affect the scope of legal aid for special guardianship orders. Additionally, changes are being made to means-free legal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4939,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"blog_posts.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Legal Aid Changes for Public &amp; Private Family Law | Blogs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tayloremmet.co.uk\/blogs\/legal-aid-changes-for-public-private-family-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Legal Aid Changes for Public &amp; Private Family Law | Blogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In recent weeks the government has announced various changes to legal aid eligibility. 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